http://www.themonthly.com.au/tm/node/680

Then, I read Andrew Chaplan’s debunking of the lib’s myths about interest rates and their economic management, and I was amazed to read that while interests rates were higher in the time of Keating, the amount of household monthly interest repayments was actually lower – because people hadn’t borrowed so much so didn’t owe so much. In all, it took less out of their household weekly budgets.

Then again, it is important to remember that things weren’t all rosy under Keating – it’s important to remember how clothing, textile, leather, steel and other manufacturing workers lost their incomes under the tariff slashes and deregulation.

So many are putting great stock in Rudd delivering us from Howard, but I’m wondering when we will all wake up and remember how we hated the economic rationalists (remember that term?) who controlled the ALP – and government – in the ’85-’96 era and wondered how the government could be so mean while the people lost their jobs, their savings, their self-respect, etc.

The only flicker of light for me is Rudd’s throw-away line that he didn’t want to be prime minister of a country that didn’t make anything any more (uttered when one of the car companies was planning to close a factory).

I certainly hope he means what he says and supports manufacturing again, as making phone calls for a living sure ain’t much fun.

oo. Apologies, helen, I’ve realised my comment turned into a rant which I should have just posted in my own blog. sorry.